The NSW Government approved exploration for coal seam gas 500m from the World Heritage Wollemi National Park at Putty. The Australian 'gas rush' for export needs to be reconsidered taking into account the impacts on the environment, people’s health, livelihoods and plans for the future.

Not
content with putting pressure on the state government, big business and the
mining industry have broadened their attack to our federal environment laws.
Following intense industry lobbying, federal and state governments have
recently announced an aggressive plan to wind back critical environmental
protection laws that protect our land, water and wildlife.

This
plan, if it goes ahead, will remove essential federal protection for threatened
species and accelerate mining and coal seam gas development in our forests,
woodlands and rural landscapes.

In
the guise of ‘cutting green tape’, government and industry propose to hand
important federal approval powers to the states, and fast track approvals for
large developments.

Handing
federal powers to the states will put iconic natural places and threatened
wildlife at risk. It will set environment protection in this country back 30
years.

Since
the days of the Franklin Dam campaign, the federal government has played an
essential role in protecting Australia’s wild places and native wildlife.

From
the wild rivers of Tasmania to the tropical rainforests of the Daintree, it has
been federal government intervention that has saved our country’s most iconic
natural areas from destructive development proposals backed by state
governments.

In
early June, Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke made headlines with a high
profile war of words with the Queensland government, following the state’s
decision to approve a massive coal mine proposal that threatens the Great
Barrier Reef.

Minister
Burke slammed the Queensland government’s environmental assessment process, and
has used his powers under federal environmental law to ‘stop the clock’ on the
proposed mine.

The
Minister’s intervention underscores the critical importance of strong national
laws to protect our environment. Right now, Minister Burke has the power to
stop environmentally destructive developments like the Alpha coal mine. But his
government wants to give that all away.

In
New South Wales, developers and mining interests are taking advantage of a
review of our environmental assessment laws to attack important environmental
protections and undermine community rights to participate in planning and
development decisions. They've argued for important public consultation
requirements to be removed from state planning legislation.

The
Nature Conservation Council of NSW encourages you to donate money to help to
build a national campaign to stop the federal government from walking away from
its environmental responsibilities, and allow them to lead efforts to defend
state planning laws from attacks by industry and developers. www.nccnsw.org.au